Many types of sensors acquire and transmit information using light signals in which the intensity of light and its spectral signature represent the magnitude and nature of the parameter being measured, the former by the maximum height of the peak of the energy in the spectrum, the latter by the location of such peak. One convenient way to process such information from a single sensor and to convert it into its electrical equivalent is to use a spectrometer.
In many applications, however, a network of sensors is used to collect information from multiple locations on the objects or in the environment being monitored. While it is also possible to use currently available spectrometers as read-out instruments to interrogate multiple sensors, such instruments can be complex, expensive and not capable of operating at an adequate speed.
The class of photonic sensors that increasingly find diverse applications for measuring and monitoring a variety of parameters are fiber optic sensors. Such devices are used to monitor amongst other parameters, temperature, pressure, stress, etc., in machinery, power generators, manufacturing processes, propulsion systems, and other applications.